


Who let the dogs out?

by mkhhhx



Category: Monsta X (Band)
Genre: A little of JooKyun and KiHo maybe, Animal Shelters, Gen, Veterinary Clinic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-03
Updated: 2017-10-03
Packaged: 2019-01-08 17:21:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,458
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12258732
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mkhhhx/pseuds/mkhhhx
Summary: The soft au featuring vet Kihyun, his assistant Changkyun, Hyungwon who has a reptile collection and the rest of the boys who keep the animal shelter~





	Who let the dogs out?

**Author's Note:**

> This is just a bit from an au I would like to work more on, sometime later and was also a good distraction from university as well XD.
> 
> Enjoy~

Kihyun counts the puppies on the operation table one last time. Five, each with a colored collar. The oldest one got the red. He is comfortable, tucked next to its mum, while the youngest, with a purple line around its neck is wailing. Their mum is licking their small heads and urging them to eat, even if she’s so malnourished herself.

 

He calls Changkyun to help him move the family in a large cage and let them rest there. It’s been a long night, it was the dog’s first pregnancy and Kihyun was afraid that some of the puppies would not survive. To his relief, they all did. They can now focus on helping them grow healthy and strong and find good families to adopt them.

 

He is getting out of his office to find some coffee. There is a familiar figure sitting on the uncomfortable waiting chairs, again. Kihyun steps closer and pokes his shoulder, but Hoseok seems to be asleep. Kihyun lets him be for a while and returns with two coffees, poking again.

 

Hoseok rubs his eyes and yawns animatedly, spotting Kihyun besides him. Then he turns and smiles to the sight of warm coffee. He thanks Kihyun and takes small sips until he is again completely awake and alert. Kihyun’s red-stained lab coat raises a concerned look.

 

“Is she okay?”

 “Only tired. She has five puppies now” Kihyun chuckles. He always admired the way Hoseok’s eyes light up with so much happiness for a dog he knows for half a day.

 “You need to go home and sleep, come back to work later, or tomorrow.”

 Hoseok always needed someone to point out the obvious: that he needs to take better care of himself.

 

“Can I see her before going?”

 Kihyun nods positively and they get inside together after they finish their coffees. It's one of the rare times there are only few animals in the clinic, a parrot and a kitten on the other end of the room. Hoseok spots the puppies and kneels in front of their cage, careful not to make much noise and startle them.

 

Their eyes are still closed and their moves uncoordinated, like tiny, fluffy potatoes.

 “They’ll be fine, right?”

 Hoseok never stops worrying. Kihyun knows it comes from the many animals they lost suddenly, to sickness before. He can never be sure but he can reassure Hoseok that he’ll do the best for these puppies too.

 “I’ll check them later in the day, but for now everything is normal. She’ll need proper care and nutrition, it’ll take around a month to go to normal weight.”

 Hoseok looks pleased and makes Kihyun sign the papers he needs. Then, he gets out to the corridor, to climb the stairs to his office.

 

Hyunwoo is already there, on the desk opposed to his own, buried in piles of papers. From the smile on his face Hoseok can safely assume he’s dealing with adoption forms. He sits next to Hyunwoo, successfully interrupting his work.

 

“Morning. Coffee?” Hyunwoo pushes the glasses on his nose and cleans a part of his desk to put the papers Hoseok is holding.

 “Thanks, but Kihyun provided. I’ll tell you about the case and go home.”

 Hyunwoo opens a new file. He writes “case #10029” on the cover and is ready to note everything down to be officially archived. Hoseok takes out the small notebook he always carries with him, turning to the last pages.

 

The details are simple this time. On September 18th, a man reported a stray dog, visibly in late pregnancy and underfed. From September 19th to September 23rd, the officers were looking for the dog. She was spotted and caught behind a local restaurant. The mission is completed on the 24th of September. At 02.34am, officers Shin Hoseok and Lee Minhyuk brought the dog to the shelter’s veterinary clinic.  There, Dr. Yoo Kihyun thoroughly examined the animal. The dog gave birth to five healthy puppies, from 04.08 to 07.46 of the same day. The last part includes information about the dog and it’s already completed by the vet. This time it’s a Toy Poodle. Light brown, no signs of abuse except undernourishment, no identification microchip.

 

“No photo yet?” Hyunwoo questions, giving a pen to Hoseok, to sign. Minhyuk will too, when he gets back.

 “We’ll take a nice one when she gains weight. She is so beautiful and trusting.”

 Hyunwoo hums in agreement and leaves the folder on a pile of identical ones. Time does not quite exist in the office, with their weird shifts and emergency calls. Hoseok checks that there isn’t anything new that requires his attention. Then allows himself to go home.

 

“Changkyun, someone’s on the door.”

 Kihyun’s hand is bleeding from many small scratches. Moreover, he seems irritated and in pain applying antiseptic from his palm and up. Changkyun doesn’t ask but guesses it was vaccine time for their kitten, that tiny clawed satan.

 

He rushes to the door and opens with a wide smile, Jooheon on the other side with his hands full. He takes some of the boxes and guides Jooheon to the storage room.  Changkyun retrieves a list of all the medicine and general equipment they need to put in storage. He checks that every package goes to the correct shelve, or in the fridge.

 

Jooheon is talkative and a nice company, helping with the heavier packages or the top shelves. Nobody asks why the order has so much cat sand or twice the disposable gloves than usually. The kitten must be adopted before Kihyun goes completely nuts.

 

They are in the corridor waiting for the vet to finish with a patient. It's a bunny if Changkyun recalls correctly. Jooheon only needs his check to go but sits relaxed. Changkyun takes the initiative to start conversation.

 “Do you have any pets?”

 “No, too little time to care for someone else.”

 “But would you want to?”

 “Ideally, sometime, if I move into a bigger apartment and have more time, yeah.”

 “You can come play with our animals whenever you want.”

 

Jooheon flashes that adorable smile of his and promises to come soon to play with the animals. Possibly hang out with Changkyun if he’s free. Changkyun tries hard not to blush. With his somehow perfect timing Kihyun opens the door and calls Jooheon inside. A lady and a young girl holding a bunny on her chest walking out.

 

Kihyun checks the list once more himself. He comments on the increasing prices of some products and Jooheon shrugs because he is only a driver. For the most part doesn’t even know what he is delivering. When it’s his time to go and continue with his work, Changkyun walks him to the door, with no valid reason at all. When he gets back in the office, Kihyun is sprawled on his chair with a devilish smirk. Before Changkyun has the chance to excuse himself and go check on the puppies, Kihyun opens his mouth.

 “Ask him on a date or something next time, I’ll give you a free day. Watching you try to flirt is painful.”

 

Chae Hyungwon is in the waiting room and this is gonna be a torturous afternoon. Changkyun steps out to greet him and asks the hour of his appointment. Then bends to take a look at the cage Hyungwon is carrying with him. It’s a tortoise this time, black shell and gray skin. Changkyun remembers seeing one like this in a zoo, when he was still studying for his degree.

 

At least it’s not a snake again, because Kihyun has been working almost non-stop for eighteen hours. It's not a secret that he doesn’t like snakes, or Hyungwon that much. This is how the story goes: Hyungwon is the rich son of an extremely rich businessman. Sometime in his early teens decided to get his first pet. It was an iguana, which is named Daisy and is still living in his room after ten years. Changkyun has seen Daisy a couple of times and she is indeed, a very well behaved and cared for iguana.

 

Hyungwon then, after having Daisy for some time, started developing a strange fondness. As in for other kinds of reptiles and amphibians. So long story short, his current collection includes many different kinds of snakes. As far as Changkyun knows some rare lizards and frogs. Also four chameleons. They lost one in the clinic at some point until Hyunwoo found it on its cages bars. Finally, some turtles and tortoises. Last time he visited, he stated that he is planning on obtaining an alligator. Kihyun almost lost it, like Hyungwon might lose an arm or leg at some point. 

 

Hyungwon is one of their many weird customers and for some reason in bad terms with Kihyun. Might be their amusing height difference. Apart from that, Hyungwon trusts Kihyun with his beloved pets. Changkyun is sure that the vet is secretly very happy about it.

 

“Fancy seeing you here again Changkyun.”

 “I work here fulltime Mr. Chae.”

 “Where’s the vet?”

 “He is tending to another patient and your appointment is in half an hour…Mr. Chae.”

 “Oh right.”

 He stretches his limps and looks inside the cage. Takes a lettuce leaf out of his pocket and slides it into the cage. He stops only when Kihyun calls him in.

 

“Evening Mr. Chae, which of your cold-blooded friends has a problem today?” Kihyun smirks, wearing clean gloves and opening the cage slowly. He has been bitten by snakes enough times already.

 “Felix here…”

 “Felix is his name?”

 “Yeah.” Kihyun fills the paper in front of him lifting his eyebrows and mouthing the name.

 “Okay, what’s up Felix?”

 “He has a poop problem.”

 “A poop problem, tell more.”

 And then Changkyun has to sit still for eleven whole minutes. Listening to all the gruesome details about Felix’s toilets habits is no fun. Finishing with how they have alternated the past weeks making Hyungwon concerned.

 

Kihyun does a basic examination of the creature, which is utterly unhelpful. He's hiding into his shell but still, Kihyun states that there are not any signs of sickness. Then they discuss a change of diet and also if Felix feels lonely. Hyungwon listens nodding, with Felix on his hands. He promises to call next week and inform Kihyun about the new diet and if there are any positive results.

 

“I’m only happy because it was not that fucking python again.” Kihyun answers, after Hyungwon is long gone. Changkyun has asked him how came they acted so civilized this time. The sun is slowly disappearing and Kihyun decides to call it a day. He never knows when he’ll be called in the middle of the night and he values his sleep more than anything.

 

“Minhyuk why are the dogs barking?”

 “Because it’s their time to be fed.”

 “And why aren’t they being fed?”

 “Because I’m here.”

 “And why are you here?” Hyunwoo looks up from his computer screen to Minhyuk. Said person was sitting with his legs on his desk and a pen between his lips just moments ago.

 “The vets received this month’s packaged supplies yesterday. I’m trying to work out the portions for each day and dog…but I’m not good at this.”

 “Let it for Hoseok when he comes.”

 

Minhyuk gets the clue and climbs from the stairs they have installed at the back of the building. They go straight to the backyard. There are seventeen sets of eyes watching him from behind the fence. A somewhat funny scene while he is carrying the 10-kilos food sacks and filling six big bowls.

 

He opens the connecting door and lets the dogs out, waggling their tails. He needs to supervise, as some get aggressive or overeat. When they are finished, some head to rest or drink water. Some run to Minhyuk, suddenly a stick and two tennis balls on his feet. He takes a ball and throws it, half a dozen overexcited dogs competing to bring it back.

 

He knows each dog by name. Some are new here, some have been for long, but all are searching for homes. Even the elder ones, who’d want to have all the attention for their last years. Minhyuk would take each one to his cramped apartment but he already has three cats. So he settles for spending as much time as he can playing with them.

 

He is so proud of his job and the team, his family. The animal shelter was founded over twenty years ago. It has been fully functional for only eight, since Hyunwoo started being in charge. The once empty space at the ground floor has been hosting Kihyun’s vet clinic for three years now. He, with his assistant, Changkyun, offer their services for free to the shelter.

 

They are only six people in total. For having to oversee only a small town and the areas around it, they are more than enough. Hyunwoo with Hoseok made wooden houses by hand at the backyard. They even installed fences separating the space in smaller areas. There are also many backrooms. Some for cats, rodents, birds and the mostly unoccupied one for reptiles.

 

Minhyuk has combined his work in the shelter with guide dog training and speeches in schools. All about animals and the environment. In his own way, he is trying to make a change. They all are and have their important roles to play. Hyunwoo usually does paperwork ever since he was badly bitten by a larger dog some months ago. He can’t move as fast as before but it's temporary. Watching Hyunwoo interact with animals is a little miracle on its own. He discards his introverted character when around them. His patience always made him the best at handling difficult situations.

 

Hoseok is the typical guy who will rescue a kitten from a tree (even if he is scared of heights). He is also the guy to run into a burning building to take a dog or a guinea pig out. Minhyuk endlessly admires his bravery and stamina. Watching him take job after job outside the office and clear the cases with success. Hoseok is also calling him to calculate the food together at the moment. He has to throw the ball one last time and lock the dogs, promising he will be back.

 

When he gets into the office, Hoseok is on a chair and Hyunwoo has his hands crossed across his chest. Changkyun is running around and Kihyun is on the floor looking under the furniture. He gets close to Changkyun to ask what’s going on.

 “A patient was staying overnight and escaped her cage.” He offers apologetically.

 At the same time, Kihyun gets up, holding a snake.

 “Fucking Chae.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!


End file.
